Douglass Takes Next Step in Earning 1st Finals Trip
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
April 8, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS – Despite playing an undermanned opponent in Thursday's Division 4 Semifinal at Van Andel Arena, Detroit Douglass still couldn't afford to look at Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart as anything but dangerous.
Which is why the Hurricanes will be playing in Saturday's Final after outlasting the Irish 60-41 in a strange matchup.
Sacred Heart had only five healthy players after three tested positive for COVID. While the numbers should have given Douglass a distinct advantage, Hurricanes coach Pierre Brooks Sr. said his players couldn't afford a mental letdown.
"We knew they only had five players (and) I've been there before," Brooks said. "They were somewhat desperate, they knew they had nothing to lose and played with a chip on their shoulder. You can't underestimate the five players who are playing."
Sacred Heart first-year coach Justin Sherlock, whose team saw its 12-game winning streak snapped, said the program played most of the season with eight players, not counting two who were brought up from the junior varsity. The Irish lost the three players to testing earlier this week, with the only good news being the remaining players constituted much of the normal starting lineup.
The result, as least early in the contest, was surprising as the Irish jumped to an early 9-8 lead with a minute and a half left in the opening quarter. But the Hurricanes' defense took over from there in allowing only three second-quarter points as Douglass built a 25-12 halftime lead.
"We played as hard as we could for 32 minutes and did all we could do," Sherlock said. "I felt like we were clicking. We've got two excellent seniors who have played a lot of basketball. We said if we could stay healthy, we could make a run."
The win sends Douglass (16-5) into Saturday's 10 a.m. championship game against Wyoming Tri-unity Christian at the Breslin Center. The Irish finished 20-2.
Douglass senior guard Pierre Brooks II, who finished Thursday with 30 points and 10 rebounds, said the difference in beating a shorthanded Irish team came down to defense.
"We stepped up in the second quarter," he said. "We locked them down and made sure we made our shots around the basket."
The Irish got 15 points and 10 rebounds from Javantae Randle. Damonn Tiggs had six points, six rebounds and two assists. Tiggs said defense will again be a priority in the Final against Tri-unity, which will be playing in its ninth championship game.
"We need to build on our defense," he said. "Saturday is for everything, everything will be on the line. We need to play our hearts out."
Sacred Heart got 15 points, four assists, three steals and four rebounds from senior guard Zach Wentworth. Senior Luke Predum had 13 points, and freshman Aidan Halliday 11 points.
Brooks Sr. said Sacred Heart deserves credit for sticking around for much of the game.
"They played hard and never gave up," he said. "I told our guys toward the end they'd have a spark. But I was proud of our guys."
PHOTOS: (Top) Pierre Brooks II (1) works to get into the lane during Thursday's Division 4 Semifinal against Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, with Zach Wentworth (5) defending. (Middle) The Hurricanes' Damonn Tiggs looks to the post. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Nearly 25 Years After Leading Unexpected Run, Morton Directing Life-Changing Mission
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
August 11, 2026
Nearly a quarter century after presiding over arguably one of the most improbable boys basketball state championships in Michigan history, the same fight and underdog mentality still exists for Tim Morton.
Back in 2002, Morton was the head boys basketball head coach at Auburn Hills Avondale, which produced a Hollywood-type run during that season’s Class B tournament.
Unranked and without a future Division I college player in the lineup, a Yellow Jackets team headlined by seven seniors went on a quest that stunned many statewide observers.
Avondale avenged the disappointment of not getting out of the District round the previous year and then recorded a stunning upset of a highly-ranked Flint Southwestern team in their Regional Final, winning in double overtime. But after squeaking out a six-point win over a solid Williamston team in a Quarterfinal and earning an 11-point win over Comstock Park in the Semifinals, surely midnight was going to strike for Cinderella in the championship game. After all, Avondale was up against a powerful Grand Rapids South Christian team which had multiple future Division I college players on its roster.
It didn’t matter as Avondale, led by tough-as-nails captains Mike Lewis and Wes Whiteside, senior Dionte Miller and sophomore Dave Holston, completed its stunning run with a 70-65 win to capture what still stands as the program’s only Finals basketball championship.
Morton said he thought his team the previous year that couldn’t make it out of Districts was more talented, but there were intangibles the 2001-02 team possessed that couldn’t be matched.
“I think that nobody really thought that they’d have a shot,” Morton said of his team. “I think that is why we were unranked, because of what had left. But you’ve got to have something to fight for, and I think the reason was the year before. We were motivated. I think playing that underdog role, we just loved it. We won games in so many different ways and got on that roll.”
This past March, Morton and other alumni of the Avondale team certainly were thrilled to see this year’s squad advance to the Semifinals for the first time since their 2001-02 team did so. This time, the Yellow Jackets suffered a three-point Semifinal loss to eventual Class A champion Rockford.
Today, Morton is also heading another team that has an underdog mentality but is motivated to fight for each other and surrounding communities.
Morton is the multi-area director for the Southeast Michigan chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which aims to serve kids, coaches and communities by promoting through activities faith, self-esteem, serving others and being the best version of yourself.
The organization has roughly 50 student-led “huddles” that meet at high schools or middle schools, where students can have a safe haven to talk about problems, promote successes, go over scripture and bond during a challenging time of life.
Through volunteers and other staff members, the organization also conducts camps throughout the state for coaches, athletes and others to learn from each other and grow as leaders.
The chapter will have its annual golf outing Sept. 28 at Oakland University’s Sharf Golf Course.
“We just want to be really good at cultivating those relationships, making sure that we’re following up with people, and sharing what the Lord is doing so people feel like they can be connected to something bigger than themselves.”
Playing for something bigger than themselves certainly worked for the 2002 team, and Morton said there is a 25th anniversary reunion in the works for next spring.
But while he nor anyone else in the Avondale community will forget that run in 2002, these days Morton is spearheading a team he said is playing for an even greater purpose, one he tried to describe to a group of youth football coaches in Flint during a recent gathering.
“I had only about 15 to 20 minutes to share with these guys,” Morton said. “I shared that we won a state title in 2002 and I was driven to be the best coach I could possibly be. A lot of great things happened, and the state championship happened. I’m on my way home from the state championship and we’re watching the video, and it’s crazy because this fear came over me. How are we going to do this again?
“Every coach that puts his or her full identity in the performance of the team, that’s scary and that’s not good. I got out six years later because of that fear. The most important relationships of my life were not good because I had to be validated by the performance of my team. That conversation kind of led into, “Why are you coaching? Why are you doing what you are doing? I wanted them to be motivated to be the best versions of themselves, for those kids, their wives and children. That’s why I’m in FCA. That’s my cause to fight for.”
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PHOTOS At left, Tim Morton raises the Class B championship trophy in 2002. At right, Morton now a director for Fellowship of Christian Athletes. (Middle) Morton, kneeling, speaks to his team during the championship win at Breslin Center. (MHSAA archives)